


unheard of

by prkjimin



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Deaf Character, Fluff, M/M, Soulmates AU, bc i love aus, but everyone knows sign language, lapselock, minghao is deaf/hard of hearing, school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 05:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11799549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prkjimin/pseuds/prkjimin
Summary: minghao doesn't like being deaf; junhui makes it easier





	unheard of

**Author's Note:**

> more junhao from me????? prkjimin?????? ofc bc i love kings  
> as always sorry for any typos/errors/etc
> 
> btw: italics = smth said through sign language  
> "quotes" = smth spoked and signed

minghao hates being deaf.

not because he can't hear, but that obviously isn't great, but because of the way everyone else reacts to it. the pitiful looks, being treated differently, like a fragile, porcelain doll whose entire being will crack and break if the wrong word is uttered. it's  _ annoying _ , especially since he's so much more than deaf. he's a dancer, a major in human development. a soulmate skeptic, and even a street wear enthusiast with a disgustingly large collection of off white clothing, and yet the only thing he ever gets chalked down to is being  _ deaf _ .

“i'm not even fully deaf,” minghao mumbles, he hopes, to himself, though everything sounds like a muffled, distorted mumble to him. when he looks up he only sees mingyu looking at him, a little confused, surrounding library patrons still sat with their faces buried in their books and minghao figures his voice had been quiet enough.

_ nothing _ minghao signs, dismissing mingyu's curious look as he leans his chin back on his hand, forcing himself to read the obnoxiously long paragraph about human development and process the words into actual real, useful information.

the next time minghao looks up, he realizes only twenty minutes have passed as he rubs his hands over his face, groaning in what he again hopes is in an appropriate tone.

vaguely, he feels the buzzing of mingyu's mobile on the table, the tan boy eyeing it longingly, committed to his and minghao's study rules of 'no phones until at least an hour of cramming'. minghao catches the eye of mingyu and waves towards his phone, mingyu practically lunging to answer it before the final ring.

the chinese boy watches mingyu's mouth move quickly, manages to only catch a handful of words with two of them being “wonwoo”. it's been a while since he's actually heard korean despite being able to sign in it without second though. he still knows enough to live, and he still is fluent, but attempting to lip-read someone speaking as fast as they do in korean leaves the chinese boy with a killer headaches more times than not.

“wonwoo wants to know if you want to come out to eat, he and his friend are buying.” mingyu tells minghao, speaking a bit slower now. minghao considers the offer; third wheeling between the grossest soulmate couple to ever exist – not that he has a problem with wonwoo, or mingyu, they're just such a  _ couple _ , and minghao thinks soulmates are stupid anyways – while juggling the tedious task of meeting someone new and politely explaining to them that sorry, he's deaf, so either talk slower or wait for wonwoo or mingyu to translate.

his tumbling stomach makes his decision for him, the offer of free food swaying him as he agrees almost reluctantly.

“tell him he better order some lamb though,” minghao says, before marking his page and closing his textbook.

 

–

walking into the family owned restaurant wonwoo and mingyu have coined as their date place – gag – minghao is immediately welcomed by the scent of cooking meat, a faint smell of lamb that leads the thin brunet to a table where wonwoo and another unidentified man sit, his skin tone similar to mingyu's though his features are completely different, wide eyes and large nose and a pretty, straight toothed smile that makes minghao's stomach flutter oddly. he brushes it off as being hungry.

wonwoo waves at him, slowly finger signs a welcoming, and the pretty honey blonde boy beside him waves too, smiling warmly.

sitting down, minghao greets wonwoo and the stranger, barely glances in the other three's directions as they talk amounts themselves. he doesn't particularly care about the conversation flowing between them, too hungry and concerned about his stomachs well being to even try and read their lips.

he glaces up a few times while he eats, cheeks puffed a little from how full his mouth is. he sees wonwoo and mingyu closer than they had been before, wonwoo nearly sitting on mingyu's lap while they display soulmate markings to wonwoo's friend whose name minghao still hasn't caught, matching black korean on their wrists, stark black and bold, mingyu's handwriting of “can i pet your dog?” sprawled on wonwoo's wrist, and “her name's coco” in wonwoo's neater print on mingyu's forearm, who looks on with near heart eyes. minghao just continues to eat.

at some point, after minghao's stomach is on the verge of bursting and they've eaten a third of the store, mingyu excuses himself, minghao only being made aware of the fact when wonwoo's friend taps him on the shoulder, pointing to the dark haired boy who's struggling to finger sign to him.

“just talk,” minghao says after the third time wonwoo attempts to finger spell a word he doesn't know, the elder talking slowly and pronounced.

something minghao had learned early on about wonwoo, is that it's very hard to hear him. minghao isn't fully deaf, he can faintly hear mingyu if he screeches high enough, but certain frequency are lost to him and the deepness in wonwoo's voice is just completely unheard to him, the chinese boy relying solely on lip reading and his awkward finger signing to communicate.

it's a little frustrating, because wonwoo is a good guy who minghao really wouldn't mind being better friends with, it's just so hard to communicate with him.

midway through his sentence, minghao gets interrupted by wonwoo's still unnamed friend, who taps his forearm again and, to minghao's delighted surprise, starts to sign.

it's a little sloppy, but there's a hint of familiarity in it, like someone who had once been practiced and pristine in signing but had since abandoned it. still, it's easier to understand than reading wonwoo's lips and faster than going through his finger sign.

_ he's asking if you want to go out for shaved ice  _ wonwoo's friend signs. he doesn't mouth the words, but that doesn't bother minghao too much, especially with the confidence that his signs with. it makes him smile a little, raising his mood enough that minghao agrees to third wheel for awhile longer.

 

wonwoo's friend, minghao learns, is a chinese boy by the name of wen junhui. he's a year older than himself, majoring the same as wonwoo which is how the two had met. junhui explains to minghao that he used to sign a lot in chinese, having learned it when he was younger because he'd spent so much time with his deaf grandmother, and just decided to learn after moving to korea too, a tidbit that minghao keeps stashed away in the back of his mind.

junhui, minghao also learns, is also a little shit, signing in chinese about wonwoo and mingyu, the tallest boy in the group whining because “hey, i sign too don't leave me out”, which makes the chinese pair laugh.

and by the time they're all departing, minghao finds himself exchanging numbers with junhui, an out of character trait that mingyu comments slyly on, minghao refusing to entertain his teasing.

“sorry, i'm deaf.” minghao says, gesturing to his ears with a faux apologetic look on his face and a shrug.

 

–

minghao's nearly falling asleep when his phone goes off, the buzzing of his phone catching him off guard, jolting at the vibrations in his back pocket. he looks around, sees mingyu beside him still listening intensely to the lecturer and typing furiously on his laptop every so often. with his only friend busy, minghao's a little confused as to who could be texting him.

 

junhui

11:56am

let's hang out!!

 

minghao furrows his eyebrows, forgetting momentarily that he'd given junhui his number since the last time he'd seen the elder boy was over a month ago.

 

minghao

11:58am

i'm in the middle of a lecture

 

he replies, expecting junhui to leave it at that.

 

junhui

12:00pm

ur deaf, someones taking notes for u anyways. c'mon!

 

junhui poses a good point; mingyu is in fact taking notes for him, like he does every lecture, neat and concise and genuinely helpful. being in the lecture hall makes minghao feel a little more independent though, and he does copy his own notes sometimes, whatever it is that's written on the board.

 

minghao

12:02pm

ur not wrong, meet me outside the cafe in 10??

 

and with that minghao packs his things and leaves, signs quickly to mingyu that he'll talk to him later before slipping out.

 

–

throughout the months minghao and junhui grow closer, mingyu pouting every time the lanky dancer blows him off for junhui, complaining that he needs his signing buddy, to which minghao rebuttals that he could teach his soul mate slash boyfriend some sign language and have him his signing buddy.

it's three weeks before exams, minghao's days being filled with endless cramming and headaches, body running off too much instant coffee and cupped ramen. his weekends are a little better; sleeping in past 3pm and watching cartoons on his laptop until the overwhelming guilt of not doing anything comes creeping up on him.

he's midway through quizzing himself one night when he notices a shadowy figure loom across the room, minghao screaming loud enough he almost hears himself – not actually, but he's sure if his hearing wasn't constantly deteriorating he would – clutching his his chest when he sees it's only junhui, erratic heartbeat caused by something other than fear.

_ you're such a bitch  _ minghao signs furiously, hitting junhui a little too hard to be completely joking.  _ i told you not to just walk in _

junhui smiles mischievously, shrugging and dropping the two plastic bags he's been holding onto minghao's desk, taking a seat on minghao's half crushed bean bag.

_ you wouldn't be able to hear me knock anyways _ junhui signs, leaving minghao without a response other than a childish huff. over the time minghao had known junhui the other had gotten increasingly better at signing, almost as fluid and clean as minghao, something the younger prides himself in, obviously being the main reason for the other's improvement.

pulling the items out of the bags junhui had brought, minghao almost cries tears of joy when he sees the familiar clear bottle of soju, two still cold bottles of orange juice for chasers that minghao immediately cracks open and takes a swig of. the second bag is thankfully filled with food that isn't cupped ramen, another joyous blessing to minghao who clutches the motchi close to his chest.

_ let's get drunk _

 

two thirds of a bottle later and minghao is pleasantly buzzed, homework and cue cards completely discarded and forgotten. there isn't any music playing, which doesn't phase minghao any, but he still sways lightly in place, eyes closed and shot glass in hand, dribbling alcohol down his hand and wrist. he feels junhui's toes wiggles against his calf and he opens his eyes, dragging his attention to the blonde boy who's smiling softly at him.

_ you're cute  _ he signs, unabashed, because if there's one thing junhui isn't is shy, spouting compliment and his honest opinion at any given time to any body at all.

it still makes minghao flush, glad his cheeks are already tinted red from the rush of alcohol, swallowing the rest of shot easily.

_ you sound like wonwoo talking to mingyu now _ minghao signs, laughing a little. junhui knows his distaste for soulmates; something minghao had explained in great detail to the elder on one drunken night out. it just doesn't make sense,  _ i know they exists i just think it's stupid that some cosmic other being is out there determining who my soul is bound to, i want to make my own stupid choices. _ junhui seemed almost heartbroken at the knowledge, his hopeless romantic, fated lovers heart nearly going into shock at minghao's blunt unenthusiasm.

_ but without the connected souls _ junhui replies, a flicker of disappointment visible on his face that if minghao were any less drunk would have noticed.

suddenly, there's a burning sensation on his forearm, a tinging that alarms minghao enough to rise to his feet, pulling on the sleeve of his sweater and looking in disbelief at his wrist, jaw slackening and eyes turned to near saucers as the incoming chinese characters developing on his skin, stark black against his pale skin and he thinks he curses to himself in a flustered jumble of korean and chinese.

_ but you still have my heart _

minghao's mouth is dry as he attempts to swallow past the lump in his throat, looking astonished between the tattoo on his wrist and junhui, still sat on the floor, looking as confused as minghao feels, beginning to sign something to the younger.

“wen junhui!” minghao yells, and the cross of emotion that crosses junhui's face makes minghao's feel a whole other flurry of feelings.

 

–

“so you just never  _ said _ anything to each other?” mingyu asked, bewildered, laughing in disbelief. wonwoo's cackling beside him, and minghao buries his face in his hands. to his left, junhui throws an arm around minghao's shoulders, nuzzling his face against the youngers.

“we didn't need to we just signed all the time” minghao murmurs, signing along embarrassed.

this makes mingyu laugh harder, far too amused by minghao's fate. leave it to him, the man opposed to soulmates, to have met his soulmate a whole six months and developing feelings before realizing he's his soulmate.

“i just can't believe you gave junhui his name on his wrist while he gave you a cheesy romance quote,” wonwoo says, only getting a bit of assistance from mingyu as his slowly signs. this makes minghao groan again, hiding himself in junhui's side, knowing the other three are laughing despite not being able to hear it. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't know if i should focus on minghao being deaf of the whole soulmate idea so i just like half focused on both asodkjaskjas  
> a few things!  
> 1\. im not deaf, idk what it's like being deaf so my apologies for inaccuracies n such  
> 2\. "how is minghao a dancer? how does he know korean? how can he speak?" minghao real good at following cherography, he moved to korea while young aka before going deaf at 11/12/13? its an au don't think too much  
> 3\. follow my twitters @chancuIt (capital i not an L ) nd @subsoonyoung (nsfw)


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